Figure building puzzle



R. cowAN FIGURE BUILDING PUZZLE May 12, 1959 Filed Aug. 16. 1954- ,2Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. I. I

FIG. 4.

FIG. 3.

INVENTOR RAEL COWAN.

ATTORNEY May 12, 1959 YR. COWAN 2, 86,

FIGURE BUILDINGIPUZZLE Filed Aug. 16, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORRAEL COWAN.

,ZZWMJ ATTORNEY United States Patent FIGURE BUILDING PUZZLE Rael Cowan,Brooklyn, N.Y.

Application August 16, 1954, Serial No. 449,972

2 Claims. (Cl. 273-157) This invention relates to figure building,outlining and drawing means.

In the main, this invention comprises a puzzle involving a plurality offigure building elements. These elements constitute flat blocks ofvarious polygonal shapes, such as three sided, four sided and five sidedfigures. They are figure building elements in the sense that they may beplaced in abutment with each other on a common plane to form a figureoccupying the same plane. Generally this is done on a horizontal planesuch as the top of a table. The same elements may be used to build aplurality of figures, such as the figures or representations of animals,human beings, still life, architectural forms and the like. It is notrequired that all of the elements in a given set be utilized in formingthese various figures since it is possible to form some figures with alesser number of building elements than the set as a whole contains Itis accordingly the principal object of this invention to provide aplurality of relatively flat building elements of various polygonalshapes, which are adapted to be placed into abutment with each other invarious positions relative to each other on a common plane to formvarious figures of the general character above mentioned.

In the preferred form of this invention, these polygons are providedwith corner angles of other than 90 degrees. They are provided withmatching sides in the sense that at least one side of each buildingelement is equal in length to at least one side of another buildingelement in the same set. Actually, however, in the preferred form ofthis invention, each side of each building element may be matched withat least one side of several building elements in the same set.Consequently, many variations in the relative positions of the severalelements may be had. Further, in the preferred form of this invention,no two sides of any one building element are equal in length, althoughthis is not necessarily so and it may be desired to form buildingelements in accordance with this invention in which at least two sidesof at least some of the elements in a given set are equal in length.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a plurality ofbuilding elements of the character described which are coloreddifferently so as to provide striking effects and results from thevarious arrangements of which they are capable in the formation of thevarious figures of which mention has -above been made. Each element in agiven set may be different in color from all of the other elements inthe same set or there may be matching colors in groups of two or moreelements within the same set. This multi-colored aspect of the inventionis, however, not a critical or essential 2,836,324 Patented May 12, 1 959 ice be utilized in accordance with the principles of this inventionboth when they are placed right side up or right side down. This adds tothe versatility of the building elements and to the range of figurebuilding possibilities.

Another important feature of this invention is the fact that thebuilding elements are die cut, in one form of the invention, from asheet of relatively stilf or heavy card-board, fiber board, plywood,pressed wood or the like. When the elements are removed from the boardfrom which they were die cut, an outline board remains, that is, a boardhaving an opening formed therein which corresponds to the over-all shapeof the several elements which were removed therefrom. This outline boardmay be used as a template in drawing outlines on a sheet of paper or thelike. that the outline corresponds to a shadow view or silhouette of afigure, such as an animal or the like. Once the outline is traced ordrawn on a sheet of paper, it may be filled in and colored to form amore detailed representation of said animal or the like.

Still another feature of this invention, in another preferred formthereof, is the provision of an outline board having a back whichextends across the outline opening to serve as a support for thebuilding elements when they are mounted within the outline of saidboard. The elements may be placed therein for storing purposes and theymay be removed therefrom in order to be used in the manner aboveindicated and this procedure may be repeated indefinitely. The back onsaid board which extends across the outline opening therein may beimprinted with lines indicating and delineating the several elements andtheir respective positions or locations in said outline opening. It thusbecomes a simple matter to replace the elements in said outline openingin proper positions therein.

A useful feature of the invention that flows from the last mentionedfeature resides in the fact that in order to produce the outline boardlast mentioned, it is necessary to "die cut therefrom a sectioncorresponding to the outline of the opening sought therein. This sectionwhich is removed from the board is adapted to serve as a template indrawing outlines on paper and the like. This template differs from theone which was first above mentioned in that lines are drawn around itrather than within it. The template now under discussion may be markedwith lines to indicate the relative locations of the building elementswithin the outline delineated by said template.

In connection with the foregoing feature, it is to be noted that thebuilding elements are made, preferably,

of thicker material than the board in which the outline opening isformed. Consequently, when the building elements are inserted the-rein,they project above the top surface of the outline board and consequentlythey may readily be gripped by the fingers for removal from said outlineboard.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

, Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a plurality of figure buildingelements made in accordance with this invention, showing how they arearranged to form a figure of an animal, and showing how they aresituated within a board having an outline opening formed therein toreceive them and a back secured thereto to support them, one of saidelements being removed from said board to show its three-dimensionalstructure.

Fig. 2 is a plan view showing a board having an outline opening die cuttherein to receive a plurality of building elements of the characterherein claimed, the cut-out from said board being also shown and adaptedto serve as a template, as is the outline board itself.

The assumption is made Fig. 3' shows a plurality of building elements inabutment with each other to form the figure of an animal, one of saidelements being slightly removed from the other elements to show itsseparate and independent identity.

- Fig. 4'is a viewsimilar to that of Fig. 3 but showing another figuremade from building elements of the character herein claimed.

. Fig. 5 is still another similar view showing other building elementsthan those shown in Figs. 3 and 4, and showing how they form a humanfigure.

Fig; 6 is an exploded view showing two groups of building elementswithin the same set, each group forming a different figure, or adifferent part of the same figure.

Fig. 7 is a view similar to that of Fig. 5 showing how the figure of ananimal may be made from the same pieces which formed the figure of a manin Fig. 5.

Referring now to Fig. 1 it will be seen that a board 10 is provided withan opening 12 and a back 14 secured to said board 10 and extendingacross said opening 12. Opening 12 constitutes the silhouette outline ofa figure, in this case, the figure of an animal. A plurality of figurebuilding elements 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36 and 38 areprovided for insertion into opening 12 and upon that portion of back 14which extends across said opening. When these building elements arearranged in proper order, as shown in Fig. 1, they fit into said opening12 and form the figure of an animal just as said opening does. also beplaced upon a flat surface such as a table top and they may then beplaced in abutment with each other to form'the figure shown in Fig. l orany other figure that these elements may be capable offorming. This isin the nature of a puzzle since the pieces or elements should bescrambled before the task of assembling them to form a figure iscommenced. What is important is thatthese elements are capable offorming not only the one figure shown in Fig. l but also other figuresas well. See the figure in Fig. 3 which is made of the same elements asthe figure in Fig. 1.

Building elements 16 to 38 inclusive are marked with.

the letters A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L respectively so that theymay readily be identified. It will be noted in Fig. 1 that the exposedportion of back 14 is marked with dotted lines 40 which correspond tothe lines of juncture between the respective elements when properlyplaced thereon. The same letters A to L inclusive are imprinted uponback 14 in the spaces corresponding to the building elements whenproperly arranged to form the figure shown in Fig. 1. Back 14 therebybecomes a guide to assist in properly positioning or arranging theelements. It will be understood that it is not always a simple matter tosuccessfully arrange the elements in order to form a figure, especiallywhen it is borne in mind that this puzzle is intended for children aswell as adults.

An inspection of the figure building elements thus far mentioned willdisclose the fact that they are relatively flat blocks having paralleltop and bottom surfaces and at least three sides joining said'top andbottom surfaces substantially at right angles thereto. It will thus beobserved that each figure building element comprises a block of polygonshape in plan view. It will further be observed that the preference hereis to make use of four sided figures rather than three sided figures andnone of the figures thus far mentioned have more than four sides.

It will further be noted that none of the angles of any of thesepolygons is exactly 90 degrees. They either exceed 90 degrees or theyare smaller than 90 degrees but none are actually 90degrees.

It will also be observed that no two sides of any one element are equalin length in this preferred form of the invention. Nonetheless, at leastone side of each element is of the same length as at least one side ofanother element and, in the preferred form of this invention, each Thesame building elements may side of each element may be matched to atleast one side of another element so that all of the sides of all of theelements may be matched to one or more sides of the other elements. Morespecifically, and purely by way of illustration, three of the sides ofelement 26 may be matched, respectively, to one side of each of elements24, 28 and 32. Thus, in the preferred form of this invention, eachelement may be described as a relatively fiat block of polygon shape,none of the sides of which are equal in length, and none of the anglesof which equal 90 degress.

An interesting and useful feature of this invention is the fact that thebuilding elements thus described are somewhat thicker than the materialof which board 10 is made, said board being of approximately the samethickness as back board 14. More particularly, it is desired, in thispreferred form of the invention, that these building elements be abouttwice as thick as each of the two boards 10 and 14. Consequently, whenthese elements are placed in opening 12 of board 10, they will projectabove the topsurface of said board 10 and it will be an easy matter togrip or engage them with the fingers. to remove them from the board.Color is not shown in the drawing to avoid complicating the disclosurebut it will be understood that in the preferred form of this inventionthe individual building elements are made in different contrasting orharmonious colors. For example, the following colors have been found toproduce striking results:

Building element 16ARed Building element 18BBlack Building element20C-Blue Building element 22DYellow Building element 24-ERed Buildingelement 26FYellow Building element 28GBl'ack Building element 30-HRedBuilding element 32-IRed Building element 34IBlue Building element36K-Yellow Building element 38-L-Black Each building element may becolored dilferently on its top and bottom sides so that when all of theelements are used right side up or all of them are inverted or some areused right side up and others inverted, different effects may be had.

As has above been indicated, the same building elements may be used toproduce many figures of various animals, human beings etc. and this maybe done by placing the elements right side up or inverting them, asdesired or required. See Figs. 1, 3 and 4. Turning now to Fig. 4, adotted line 50 will be noted between two groups of building elements.Each group is intended to constitute a complete set and each set isadapted to be used in the formation of various figures of the characterdescribed. Both groups or sets may, however, be utilized together toform a single figure as the drawing clearly shows. This is intended tobe illustrative of the various. combinations of elements of which thepresent invention is susceptible.

Referring to Fig. 2, it will be seen that a board'60 is provided with ahole 62 die cut therein. This hole or opening 62 is in the form or shapeof a figure, such as ananimal. as shown in Fig. 2. Board 60 correspondsto board 10 above described but no back is secured to it correspondingto back 14. Consequently, board 60 may be considered in the nature of anoutline board constituting a template or stencil through which anoutline drawing may be made corresponding to the outline or figuredefined by opening 62. The outline may be drawn on paper and thencolored in or filled in as desired. Cut-out 64 is the piece which wasdie cut out of board 60 to form opening 62. Cut-out 64 may also serve asa template for the purpose of drawing an outline on paper or the like.

Cut-out 64 may also serve another function. It may be utilized toillustrate a form or figure into which the building elements hereindescribed may be assembled. To assist the person who attempts toassemble the elements into this form, dotted lines 66 may be provided oncut-out 64 to indicate the lines of juncture between the variousbuilding elements. Letters may also be provided on cut out 64corresponding to the letters on the building elements.

Referring now to Figs. 5, 6 and 7 it will be observed that the buildingelements herein claimed may be formed in other shapes than those shownin Figs. 1, 3 and 4. The elements in Figs. 1, 3 and 4 are mainly foursided polygons. One is a three sided polygon. In Figs. 5, 6 and 7 mostof the elements are five sided polygons, some are four sided polygonsand two are three sided polygons. More particularly, the five sidedpolygons are designated by the reference characters 70, 72, 74, 76, 78and 80. The four sided polygons are designated as 82, 84, 86 and 88. Thetwo three sided polygons are designated as 90 and 92. It will thus beapparent that polygon-shaped elements having three, four or five sidesmay be employed for the purposes of this invention. It should not beunderstood that polygons with more than five sides are outside of thescope of this invention. However, increasing the number of sidesincreases the complexity of the puzzle and renders it somewhat difiicultto solve. Although the puzzle is intended for both adult and child use,it is expected that in the main it will be used by children and it isessential that it be kept relatively simple.

Figs. 5, 6 and 7 show how the same building elements may be arranged toform diiferent figures. Fig. 5 shows the figure of a human being andFig. 7 the figure of an animal. Fig. 6 is intended to show that morethan one figure may be formed from a single set of building elements.Thus group 94 represents a bird while group 96 represents a baby chick.Fig. 6 is also intended to illustrate the proposition that the buildingelements may be made in relatively small groups or sets which may beemployed separately and independently of each other. By the same token,these small groups or sets may be combined to form a single relativelylarge group or set capable of building larger figures such as are shownin Figs. 5 and 7.

It will be understood that what has above been said with regard to theelements in Figs. 1, 3 and 4 as to the material of which they are madeand their dimensions and proportions is equally true of the elements inFigs. 5,

6 and 7. In the preferred form of this invention, no two sides of anyone element are identical in length and none of the angles of saidelements equals degrees. The sides of the various elements are intendedto be matched to the sides of other elements so that they may be joinedto form the figures above described.

The foregoing is illustrative of preferred forms of this invention andit will be understood that variations and modifications may beincorporated therein within the broad spirit of the invention and thebroad scope of the claims.

For example, the specific figures shown in the drawing are purelyillustrative of the many figures that may be built with the figurebuilding elements herein described and claimed. As the invention is notlimited to the specific figures shown in the drawing, so is thepurchaser and user of these building elements not limited to thebuilding of figures formed in accordance with die cut boards provided bythe manufacturer. The figures designed by the manufacturer merelyillustrate some of the possibilities of the building elements hereindescribed and claimed. The creative ability of the ultimate purchaserand user constitutes the only practical limitation upon the figurebuilding variations of which these building elements are capable.

I claim:

1. A figure-building puzzle, comprising a plurality of figure-buildingelements, each element comprising a straight-sided flat block havingparallel top and bottom surfaces, of which at least the top surfaces areblank, said block having at least three straight sides joining said topand bottom surfaces, the sides of each block being unequal in length buteach side of each block being equal in length to at least one side ofanother block, so that the block may be matched to at least one otherblock by arranging them with their equal sides in abutment with eachother, the several blocks of said puzzle being of various geometricalconfigurations in plan view and capable, when arranged in variousrelative positions with at least some of their matching sides inabutment with each other, of forming recognizable figures.

2. A puzzle in accordance with claim 1, wherein a board is provided withan opening formed therein defining a recognizable figure, whereby it ispossible to arrange said blocks within said opening to fill the openingand at the same time to form said recognizable figure, a second boardbeing secured to the back of the first board and extending across theopening formed therein, thereby serving as a support for the blocksarranged within said opening.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS601,811 Landes Apr. 5, 1898 959,754 Kennedy May 31, 1910 1,642,236Foster -1. Sept. 13, 1927 2,659, 63 Al e v, 1 953

